Kitazawa Flotation Plant

Kitazawa Flotation Plant

A flotation plant is a site where the final stages of gold mining takes place. More precisely, it’s where the valuable minerals that get extracted from the mine are separated from all the other things that get dug out, such as waste materials and other bi-products. The flotation process requires vast areas of land as well as huge amounts of energy. As the gold mine of Sado used to be the biggest in the entire East Asian region, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the flotation plant is a huge structure. Several new techniques that led to a more efficient ore extraction process were also pioneered here.

Kitazawa Flotation Plant

Due to the amount of energy needed to run the facilities, a separate power plant was built next to the flotation plant. With a steady and reliable source of energy located on-site, the operations could be run even more efficiently. Today, the old power plant building is used to house a small exhibition on the history of the plant and the neighboring town of Aikawa.

Kitazawa Flotation Plant

As the activities at the mine started to dwindle in the 1950s, the activities at the flotation plant scaled down considerably. Since then, the site has mostly remained idle and to a large extent also untouched, leading to the entire structure being overgrown with plants and vines, making the site today look like something that could have been a backdrop of a studio Ghibli movie. At night, the entire structure is illuminated by spotlights making it even more picturesque.

Kitazawa Flotation Plant

The ruins of the Kitazawa Flotation Plant are currently being used as an event space hosting, among other things, some of the concerts taking place during the Earth Celebration festival. Quite frankly, we can’t think of a more spectacular concert venue.

Kitazawa Flotation Plant

Currently, there’s a growing movement on Sado Island and in the rest of the country aiming to get the entire gold mine and its auxiliary structures, including the flotation plant, listed as a UNESCO world heritage site. If everything goes to plan, it will be added to this prestigious list within the coming years. That would likely also mean an increased number of tourists finding their way to Sado Island to discover the hidden beauties of this undiscovered island.

Kitazawa Flotation Plant

Niigata Sado-shi Aikawa Kitazawa Machi 3-2

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佐渡島

新潟県佐渡市

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